As is generally well known, carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels and reliance on foreign fuel sources are becoming increasing concerns for humanity. Many present devices and systems employed to produce electricity emit fumes and chemicals which pose hazards to the ozone layer of the earth. Furthermore, rising energy costs have affected not only businesses, but homeowners as well. Thus, there has been a proliferation of alternative approaches to generate electric energy.
One of such approaches is based on extracting energy from tidal waves and converting it into electric energy. Generally, prior art wave energy conversion systems employ a buoyant member floating upon a water surface and coupled to a proximal end of a linear electric generator positioned in a generally vertical plane and having its distal end coupled to the floor bed. U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,298,054 and 7,199,481 both issued to Hirsch, U.S. Pat. No. 7,242,106 issued to Kelly, U.S. Pat. No. 6,791,205 issued to Woodbridge, U.S. Pat. No. 6,020,653 issued to Woodbridge et al., and U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2005/0271470 to Rytand disclose various types of such systems employing buoyant member.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,184,590 issued to Lopez discloses a wave-actuated electricity generating device that includes a base and a gate having bottom edge thereof pivotally coupled to the base. The gate pivots in first and second directions with the movement of the waves. A pushrod has proximal and distal ends and a longitudinal axis extending therebetween. The proximal end of the pushrod is pivotally coupled to the gate. The distal end of the pushrod is adapted for coupling to an electric power generator of a flywheel type.
However, while these prior art systems fulfill their respective requirements, there is a need for further improvements in converting tidal wave energy into electric energy.